Railway-car



UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

, NATHANIEL WHEELER, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

RAILWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 273,415, dated March 6,1883. Application filed December 4, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL WHEELER, of Bridgeport, county ofFairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement inRailway-Cars, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

My invention has for its object the production of a well-ventilated car;and it consists in providing the car with a series of hinged or pivotedtransom-windows, arranged directly above the usual windows at the sideof the car and at such a height from the floor of the car as to be abovethe heads of the occupants of the seats, which will be placed in thecar, and also with a series of windows along the sides of the deck ofthe car, the said windows being hinged, a part of them at one end and apart of them at the other end, so that some of them may be openedoutward at their rear ends, whichever way the car may be moving. Whenthe deck-windows are open, as described, and also the transom-windows,the open rear ends of the said windows act to exhaust the air from thecar, while the open transom-windows below the deck-windows and above theusual side windows supply air, thus keeping up a constant circulation ofair into the space made by opening the transom-windows and out throughthe space made by opening the deck-windows,

thuschanging the atmosphere of-the car and insuring proper ventilationwithout raising the usual side windows. In order to make this spstem ofventilation practicable without reducing the size of the side windows, Ihave made the side of the car from ten to twelve inches higher thanheretofore customary, and in the spaceso gained above the side windows,and between them and the space occupied by the sign-board, which hasalso been elevated, I have placed the series of transom-windows, which Ipivot preferably at each end below their centers, so that their topsopen inward, and when open incline upwardly, thus acting to deflect theincoming air upward toward the roof or top of the car and prevent itstriking the heads of the occupants of the car.

Figure 1 represents in perspective the body of part of a railway-carcontaining my invention 5 Fig. 2, a perspective view of part of theinterior of my improved car; Fig. 3, avertical transverse sectionofone-half of the car shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is a detail,showing'a hinged deck-window and its operating crank-rod.

The car-body A, with its side windows, B, and the deck A with itswindows 0 (1, those 0 hinged at one end at 2 and those (1 hinged attheir opposite ends at 3, and the hand-rods C to open and close the saidwindows, are all as usual.

1 have made the side of the car higher by from ten to twelve inches thanheretofore, so as to afi'ord a space above the usual side windows, B,and the roof part c of the car, which is thus inclined but verylittle,to enable the introduction between the tops of the said windows Band the space occupied by the signboard fof a row of transom-windows, g,piv oted at each end, preferably below their centers, at 4, to permitthe said transom-windows to be opened inward at their tops from the fullto the dotted line position, Fig. 3, thus admitting air into the carabove the closed windows B, the air so admitted, by striking against thetransom-windows g, turned to occupy inclined positions, as stated, beingdeflected upward above, and thusv prevented from striking the heads ofthe occupants of the usual seats of the-car. (Not shown.)

When the caris traveling in onedirection as, for instance, inthedirection of the arrow marked thereon in Fig.1-a part of the seriesot' deck-windows a may be opened at their rear ends, according to thestate of the atmosphere; but when the car is traveling in the oppositedirection a greater or less number of the series of windows (1 may beopened at their rear ends. The transom -windows y, when opened, admitair, and the open rear ends of the windows 0 or d operate in such manneras to exhaust the air from the interior of the car, thus keeping up acirculation of air in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 3,,whichefiectually carries out of the car the vitiated warm air and suppliesfresh air in quantity as required.

Making the side of the'car higher than heretofore and dispensing withthe usual curved roof between the sign-board and the deck-roof, besidesincreasing the area of the interior of the car and affording space forthe transomwindows directly above and in line with the side windows, B,and between them and the ICC sign-board, also affords a most excellentopportunity to beautify the car-as, for instance, by making thetransom-windows of stained glass or as ornamental windows, as shown inthe drawings.

The lower edge of each pivoted transom-window is placed substantially atthe level of the top of one of the side windows, B, but a little fartherout with relation to the car-body, as shown in Fig. 3, so that thewindow B, when raised, will pass the transom-window g.

The box or portion m, to receive the roll m for the curtain n, islocatedat thelevel orjunction of the transom and side windows, B, and thecurtain is thusalways kept below the transon-window, so as not toobstruct the admission of light or of air through the transom-windowabove the window B, as would be the case were the curtain hung from thetop of the window 9 and across it.

The vertical pilasters or posts 1), appearing at both the inner andouter sides of the car,

are braced by the bars, (see Figs. 1 and 3,) which, secured to thepilasters, form sills for the lower edge of the sash of thetransom-windows g and brace and stiffen the structure.

The window B, when raised, passes the rigid bar b and the rail or barat, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) which constitute part of the curtain-box.

I claim 1. The combination, with the body and roof or deck of arailway-car, of side windows, B, a series of pivoted transom-windows,g,arranged directly over the said side windows and between the sidewindows and the sign-board,

just under the roof, and ot' a series of deckwindows, hinged orpivotedas described, to be opened at their rear ends with relation to theforward movement of the car, to operate substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the car-body, of the series of side windows, B,the series of transom -windows g, arranged directly over them, andadapted to be opened into the car at their upper ends to receive theincoming air against their inclined sides, and of the series ofdeck-windows c d, the windows of one of the said series of deck-windowsbeing adapted to be opened outward at one end, and those of the otherset to be opened outward at the other end, to operate as and for thepurposes described.

3. In a car-body, the series of side windows and the series oftransom-windows, placed directly over the side windows and between thetops of the said side windows and the signboard, combined with theseries of curtains, their rollers, and boxes at to receive the saidrollers, the curtain-boxes being arranged at thejunction or level of thelower ends of the transom-windows and the tops of the side windows, allas shown, and for the purposes set forth.

4.. In a railway-car, the vertical pilasters 1), extended between thebodyA and the signboard, and the rigid bars or sills 1), between thesaid pilasters, to form sills for the transomwindows and brace thepilasters, combined with the transom-windows, pivoted at their ends, andwith the series of windows B, arranged directly under thetransom-windows, between the pilasters, all substantially as shown anddescribed.

5. In a railway-car, the vertical pilasters 1,-

extended between the body A and the signboard, and the rigid bars orsills b, between the said pilasters, to form sills forthetransom-windows and brace the pilasters, combined with thetransom-windows pivoted at their ends, and with the series of windows B,arranged directly underthe transom-Windows, between the pilasters, andwith the row of curtain-boxes an, arranged and fixed opposite the barsor sills referred to, and between the lower edges of the transom-windowsandthetops of the closed lower windows, B, all substantially asdescribed and shown.

In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification in thepresence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

NATHANIEL WHEELER.

Witnesses:

ISAAC HOLDEN, LoUIs H. BAKER.

